i plan to send a fifth recommendation letter, am I crazy??

Applying to College
1

<p>a fifth one from my art teacher, last 4 were literature, English, Math and intern employer, im an international student</p>

<p>ps: and is it ok if i dont send art supplement, because i dont have a camera to do 10 minute presentation?</p>

2

<p>Don't send anymore...busy people won't appreciate it!</p>

3

<p>Many admissions offices actually get annoyed at excessive recommendation letters. (What "excessive" is varies, but oftentimes more than 2 or 3 is seen as over-the-top.)</p>

4

<p>Yeah I'd say you don't need more than however many they say they want. Nobody has time to read 5 recommendation letters, you're more likely to annoy them. If you're really that good then they'll see it from your application and don't need to hear it five times.</p>

5

<p>If a school requests 2 teacher recs, it is OK to send a third if it's very strong and addresses a different aspect of you than the others (eg. research advisor). 5 is excessive and may do you more harm than good.</p>

6

<p>So in short YES you are crazy</p>

7

<p>The more you need to show how excellent you are, the less likely you were excellent to begin with.</p>

<p>You'd be an absolute fool to send a fifth rec in.</p>

8

<p>Are you crazy? You're only sending 5?! I sent 8!</p>

9

<p>Only send the amount the school requests. Beyond that will do more harm than good. There's good advice on this queue - too many recommendations are at best an annoyance and at most a detriment to you. Narrow it down and only send what is requested by the school.</p>

10

<p>The thicker the file, the thicker the applicant.</p>

11

<p>Diminishing returns, really.</p>

<p>After 3-4 recs, I think the admissions officers would have a fairly good idea of who you are. Adding additional recs would not add that much information -- they'd get the point already. It would likely just annoy them.</p>

<p>Back in the day, I sent four recs. One from my guidance counselor, two from my teachers, and one that I got from my old guidance counselor who wrote me a REALLY good one.</p>

12

<p>The art supplement would do you a lot more good than a fifth rec.</p>

13

<p>The student who thoughtlessly and selfishly takes up way too many teachers limited time, is a student who will be thoughtless and selfish in college. </p>

<p>The picture that so many recommendations paints is not pretty. Its greedy, not not the portrait of someone that the college want to invite into their community.</p>